MAY 21, 2018
The dining room’s custom table has a patinated-bronze base by Patrice Dangel and a glass top with a gilded edge from Stephen Cavallo/Mirror Fair. The custom dining chairs are in an Atelier Textiles de Prestige fabric, the pendant is by Fortuny, and the circa-1980 rock crystal–and-bronze table lamp by Robert Goossens is from Liz O’Brien.
The Holmby Hills drawing rooms of Betsy Bloomingdale and the interiors of Sunnylands, Walter and Leonore Annenberg’s estate in Rancho Mirage, were sun-splashed and elegant, playful and low-slung. There were pops of hot color—lime, aqua, lemon—and nods to Hollywood Regency style in homes that were as welcoming as they were soigné.
In the sitting room adjacent to the master bedroom, the Venetian plaster walls were hand-painted by Mark Giglio in a pattern inspired by Matisse’s cutouts. The custom sofa in a Zimmer + Rohde fabric is topped with pillows in a Borderline cotton paisley, the ottoman is covered in a J. Samuel wool, and the circa-1750 mirror is from R. Louis Bofferding Decorative & Fine Art. The Josef Frank–style candlestick lamp is from Svenskt Tenn, the swing-arm lamp is by Ann-Morris, Inc., and the custom abaca rug is by Beauvais Carpets.
It is precisely such a spirit that infuses this art-filled Manhattan pied-à-terre. And no wonder: The owners are a couple who have spent most of their lives in Los Angeles mingling with pillars of the region’s old guard, including Ronald and Nancy Reagan. “They’re very international, but there is something quite California about them. They’re willing to take chances,” says designer Brian J. McCarthy, who has worked with the pair for more than 15 years and also designed their capacious main home in Los Angeles.
In the living room of a Park Avenue apartment that was designed by Brian J. McCarthy and renovated by the architect John B. Murray, the sofa, in an Old World Weavers fabric, is topped with a pillow made from a Dior scarf, and a pair of armchairs are in a Christopher Hyland silk. The vintage chair (right) is by André Arbus, the cocktail table is by Ateliers Brugier, the curtains are of a Macondo Silks silk taffeta, and the artwork is by Emil Nolde.
Although the couple, who have enjoyed high-flying careers in diplomatic and legal circles, spend significant time in New York—they serve on a slew of charity boards—they had never before owned an apartment in the city.
“We looked around, casually, for years, but we could never find anything quite right,” says the wife, who concedes that it was she who pushed the issue, while her husband was content to be taken care of by the staff at the Carlyle Hotel during their frequent visits.
In the rotunda, the artwork is by Christian Bérard.
But McCarthy, too, was keen to help them find an East Coast nest, one that would translate their genteel yet bold version of Los Angeles culture into a Manhattan context. He poked around a bit with a real estate agent, then rang them up the moment he was shown the 3,000-square-foot, three-bedroom apartment on Park Avenue.
It had faux-classical columns and lots of dark wood paneling, and it needed to be reconfigured and gutted, but the light was incomparable: three exposures and unobstructed views. “Seeing the sun is incredibly important when you’ve grown up with it,” the wife says.
A Louis Cane console in the dining room is topped with Serge Roche obelisks.
With architect John B. Murray, McCarthy reimagined the space by giving it an almost loftlike openness. Now, a cozy entry opens to a rotunda with black-and-white-marble floors. The plaster sconces are by Parisian sculptor Philippe Anthonioz, who collaborated with Diego Giacometti on the Musée Picasso. Leading from the rotunda on either side are the public rooms, with carefully chosen furnishings that convey a sense of wit and a highly refined eye.
The kitchen’s custom fiberglass table is by Mongiardo Studio, the stove and hood are by La Cornue, the custom rope pendants are by Jacqueline Morabito, and the ceiling is in a custom Donald Kaufman Color paint.
Some of the furniture in the apartment was chosen on buying trips abroad that the couple took with McCarthy; in other cases, the homeowners, who travel the world constantly, simply fell in love with something and had it shipped back. “Brian would just laugh and say, ‘We’ll make it work,’” the wife says.
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